Witness urges U.S. lawmakers and press to document conditions inside Cuban prisons

At the hearing, the witness criticized some U.S. lawmakers who travel to Havana and said they portray Cuba's problems as the fault of U.S. policy rather than the Cuban government. "When we hear those Democrat politicians who praise that Communist regime, we tell them, take advantage of your friendship with the Cuban government and go with the press into the prisons and show the world the reality of what's happening there," the witness said.

The speaker compared presenting a friendly face in Havana to the behavior of officials who socialize with authoritarian leaders elsewhere, and contrasted contemporary images of Cuban prisons with those from Nazi Germany (the transcript originally redacted the latter reference). The witness used these comparisons to press lawmakers and journalists to use access to document alleged abuses. The transcript shows the witness making this appeal but does not record responses from committee members or evidence that such trips or press access were arranged.

The speaker closed by repeating a cultural anecdote intended to illustrate the material differences they associate with communist and capitalist systems. The transcript does not record further committee action on this testimony.